Crimefest in Bristol has everything a good crimewriting festival should have, great guests, a choice of panels with something to suit everyone, enthusiastic delegates, wonderful hotel and a friendly atmosphere.
Appearing on a writers’ panel can sound daunting. I recall my first ever panel when I was very nervous, aware that I had just a short while in which the best I could hope for was not to say something embarrassing. It is often very hard to talk about how one writes, to try and explain a process that happens subconsciously. Did I decide to write in a particular style or is that just what flows out? Do I plan what kind of material I will or will not include in my stories or do my choices just feel appropriate? It all went by very rapidly, helped by other very knowledgeable panelists and a skilled moderator. Later I wondered - did I over-prepare - make detailed lists of possible replies to questions, which I then forgot to look at? Probably!
Nowadays I know that Crimefest panels are relaxed and fun. In 2014 I will be taking part in ‘It’s Not All Downton Abbey’ at 10.10am on Friday 16 May, about writing historical crime fiction.
The two big questions about historical writing are: how do writers research and is there a place for modern perspectives and sensibilities in our novels? I love research – finding out interesting facts about a subject that fascinates me is a real pleasure, and I will talk about the sources I use, and how my beginnings as a true crime writer have influenced my fiction.
The second question has made me think about my characters and how truly Victorian they are. Does the fact that a character holds an opinion we find unpalatable nowadays make him or her a bad person or just a person of their time? What does the reader feel about such a character? I hope to find out!
Victorians had no concept of expressions being pc or non-pc, and some of their blunt descriptions would be thought offensive today when they were not believed to be so at the time. How should writers of historical fiction deal with this issue? My feeling is that as far as possible my characters should be Victorians and not modern people in costume, and the language I use should reflect this. In context, it should not cause offence.
In thinking about the panel I have realised that there is one modern perspective I do bring to my books, and that is the exploration of the inner life of my characters who are often conflicted by the demands of a society that dictated how they should behave, think and feel.
This year I am especially thrilled to be awarded a place in the spotlight, at 12.30 on Friday, when I will be given the opportunity to talk about the location of my murder mysteries and how I have made 1880s Bayswater into a Victorian Midsomer, a place where anything and everything can happen.
Check back here after CrimeFest for an upadte from Linda on how everything went and videos of Linda's spotlight segment.
The latest addition to Linda's Frances Doughty series, An Appetite for Murder, is available now from The Mystery Press!